Toy projectile



(No Model.)

. 85 M, A. SMITH. TOY PROJEOTILE.

No. 442,464. Patented Dec. 9, 1890.

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JEREMIAII FRANK SMITH AND MARGARET A. SMITH, OF KEOKUK, IOIVA.

TOY PROJ ECTI LE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 442,464, dated December 9, 1890. Application filed September 17, 1889. Serial No. 324,288. (No model.)

To all whom it nut-y concern.-

Be it known that we, JEREMIAH FRANK SMITH and 1\IIARGARET A. SMITH, citizens of the United States, residing at Keokuk, in the county of Lee and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toy Projectiles; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to projectile toys; and its object is to provide means whereby a dart or an arrow may carry in its upward flight a folded parachute, means whereby the parachute may be released so that it may spread out by the turning of the projectile to descend, and means whereby either the projectile or some other object may serve as a load to keep the parachute right side up, thus causing the parachute to float gracefully away in the air as it slowly descends, either independently 01 the projectile or with the projectile as a dependent load, and affording amusement with a spice of anxiety as to where the parachute will land.

To this end our invention consists in the construction and combination of parts forming a toyprojcctile, hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure I is a view of our toy in the act of floating away or slowly descending, with the projectile serving as a load. Fig II represents the same in position to be thrown. Fig. III is a horizontal sectional view of a portion of the dart or arrow. Fig. IV represents a portion of a projectile and three parachutes, showing how a single projectile may carry up a number of parachutes; and Fig. V represents the projectile returning and the parachutes floating away in the air with different loads.

5 represents the projectile portion of the toy, and it may be eitheradart provided with a side notch G and a feather-shaped tail 7, or it may be an arrow with any common tail end such, for example, as that shown in dotted lines, Fig. II. A number of threads 8 may be attached at one end to the tail of the projectile, or to some other object serving as a load, as shown at 16, Fig. V, and at the other end to the edges of a parachute I.

10 represents a light wire hook loosely attached to the middle or top portion of the parachute.

The projectile has a longitudinal bore 11 in its forward end, into which a side slot 12 opens, and in this bore abullet 13 is placed to play freely.

14 represents an enlargement of the slot 12 to admit the bullet; or, in lieu of this enlarge ment, the bullet may be placedin at the front end and the end then closed by a metallic screw-head 15, as shown in Fig. III.

The operation is as follows: First fold the parachute like an umbrella. Then with the head of the projectile downward insert the hook 10, with its point toward the head of the projectile. Now turn the projectile-head upward and the bullet will drop in front of the hook and retain itin place. Then shoot the toy up into the air, and the parachute will be drawn headforemost through the air with little resistance until the arrow reaches its upward limit and turns its head downward to descend. Then the bullet will drop away from the hook, leaving it free to be withdrawn from the slot by the resistance of the air retarding the parachute more than it does the more dense projectile, which, now pulling upon the threads 8, quickly rights the parachute, and the resistance of the air first spreads it and then impedes the descent of both parachute and projectile, so that the tov is a considerable time floating in the air before it reaches the ground.

IVhile the projectile may be either a dart or an arrow, we prefer the dart. because it may be thrown by any common stick and string, while an arrow requires abow or a more ex pensive gun to throw it.

Any weight may be substituted for the bullet 13, which will hold thehook 10 when gravitating rearward and will release the parachute when gravitating forward by the turn of the projectile.

As shown in Fig. Y, other objects than the projectile may serve as a load for the parachute by attaching such load 16 to the lower IOC ends of the cords S, and two or more parachutes may be thrown up into the air by a single projectile, as shown in Fig. IV, in which case the turn of the projectile releases all the parachutes at once by the weight 13 falling from in frontof the hooks 10. Then the para chutes-may float away, carrying each its own load, free from the projectile, which may be left tree to drop freely to the ground or it might yet be supported by anotherparachute, as in Fig. I.

' A cord with a large knot or lug at its end might answer the purpose of thehook l0 and be an equivalent thereof.

By an arrow-shaped projectile is meant a projectile having a feather at one end and a weight at the other, or an equivalent device to cause the projectile to go upward head first and then turn to come down head first.

\Ve do not suppose that we are the firstinventors of the combination of a toy parachute and an arrow or other projectile for supporting the same in every manner in its upward flight, nor of every means for so connecting the parachute to the arrow that the two will be separated and fall apartat the limit of their flight, and we do not make any broad claim thereto. 7

Having thus -fully described our invention, what we claim to be new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is the following:

1. The combination, in atoy projectile, of a dart or arrow shaped projectile having a longitutlinal bore in its forward portion and a side slot communicating with the rear end of the bore, a weight fitted to slide freely within the said bore, a parachute provided with a hook at its upward pointadapted to be seated in said bore, and with threads connecting its edges with the tail end of the projectile, substantially as shown and described.

2. The combination of a dart or arrow shaped projectile having an aperture in its side, a parachute provided with connections between its edges and the tail of the projectile, and further provided at its middle or upper portion with a hook adapted to engage the said aperture, and aweightcarried bythe arrow and fitted to gravitate into engagement with the said hook when the arrow points upward and to gravitate out of. engagement when the arrow points downward, substantially as shown and described, whereby the parachute will be released at the turn of the arrow, as set forth.

3. The combination, with a dart or arrowshaped projectile and a parachute provided with a load attached by connections to its edges, of.a hook and gravitating connection between the upper portion of the parachute and projectile, substantially as shown and described.

4. The combination, with a dart or arrow shaped projectile and a parachute provided with a load attached thereto by connections between its edges and the load, and a gravitating connection between the upper portion of the parachute and the projectile, substantially as shown and described, whereby the parachute is retained in a folded position while ascending and is automatically cast loose from the arrow by the arrow-point turning downward to descend.

5. The combination of a parachute, an arrow-shaped projectile and a gravity connection between the upper end of the parachute and the projectile, substantially as shown and described, whereby the parachute will be held to the projectile when the latter heads up ward and will be released therefrom when the projectile turns its head downward.

In testimony whereof we affix our si guatu res in presence of two Witnesses J. FRANK SMITH. MARGARET A. SMITH. Wi tn esses:

W. J. SCHLOTTER, A. L. PARSONS. 

